J.K. Rowling Contributing a ‘Doctor Who’ Story?

With each passing season, it seems that the BBC’s revived rendition of Doctor Who continues to grow, as more fans are discovering the series on Netflix and other services. We’ve already gotten a glimpse of what the second half of season 7 will offer, and the recent Christmas special has certainly kept interest high.

Since the Doctor won’t rematerialize on TV screens until the spring, the time seems ripe to whet fans’ appetites for more Who material. Now, it seems that everyone’s favorite Doctor could be about to receive a bit of magic from an unlikely source.

According to Hypable, the BBC plans to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Doctor Who franchise with a series of 11 new short stories – called e-shorts – each featuring a different incarnation of the Doctor. However, what’s most intriguing is that this project will feature collaborations with a number of well-known children’s authors.

Showrunner Steven Moffat has refused to divulge precisely which writers will be involved; however, it’s hard not to wonder whether J.K. Rowling – whose Harry Potter saga stands as the best-selling book series and highest-grossing film franchise of all time – might lend her storytelling prowess to the world of Doctor Who.

Publisher Juliet Matthews made a brief comment on the list of authors fans can expect. Here’s what she had to say:

“We are delighted to have 11 sensational children’s authors involved in the series, all bringing an individual style, imagination and interpretation to their eshort tribute to The Doctor. This is a who’s who of children’s fiction coming together to celebrate the much-loved Doctor Who.”

Given Doctor Who‘s strong ties to the UK, it makes sense that such authors would include largely British writers who specialize in the kind of fantasy and sci-fi themes that the series deals with on a regular basis, and in that regard, no one has had more success than Rowling.

Promotional videos of each author will be featured on the BBC Worldwide YouTube channel starting January 11, and the first story will be released on January 23rd. A paperback collection of all the stories will follow in the fall.

Doctor Who returns to television on BBC and BBC America in April 2013.